Disappointed by Formula E’s plan for its next car? Here’s an alternative

Formula E’s plan

Formula E’s plan for the Gen3 car is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Power is going up, with 350kW (469hp) available in qualifying, compared to the current 250kW (335hp), which will put speeds somewhere between Formula 3 and Formula 2. (Power output during the 45-minute races is capped at 300kW/402hp.) The battery is going to get considerably lighter, weighing 397lbs (180kg) compared to the current 547lbs (248kg), albeit with a slight reduction in capacity to 51kWh.

The battery will be able to charge at 600kW, more than twice the power of even the best EVs on sale today. That will enable mid-race fast charging, which will add 4kWh in 30 seconds. And the cars will be able to regenerate energy under deceleration at the same power level, thanks to a front-axle 250kW generator unit that works in conjunction with the 350kW motor-generator unit (MGU). However, the front wheels will only regenerate energy—there’s no plan to allow the cars to deploy power to the front wheels, unlike just about every high-performance electric road car on sale or in development.

The di Grassi plan

The way the rules are shaping up means that teams will have to develop their own rear MGU, but that front generator unit will be produced by a single supplier.

“What I don’t really understand is that some key features that could be commercially relevant—and you need the R&D to be there—are kind of used as an excuse to have cost-cutting measures,” di Grassi told me when we spoke recently. “If you have an MGU in the front, it makes no sense not to use it to power the car.”

One of the chief complaints leveled at Formula E has been that the cars aren’t fast enough. While that’s less of an issue now with the Gen2 car, di Grassi still thinks there’s room to improve. “I want Formula E cars to be very impressive in acceleration, which electric cars are good at. Any electric car that costs $100,000 in two or three years time will accelerate zero to 100km/h (62mph) faster than Formula E because it’s four-wheel drive. My vision is that zero to 200km/h (125mph)—Formula E needs to be equivalent to Formula 1,” he said.

If it were up to di Grassi, the Gen3 car would use identical front and rear MGUs, both at the current output of 250kW (335hp). The cars would be able to regen and deploy that power at both axles.

“I did the calculations,” he told me. “And with a 55-45 weight distribution front to rear and 500kW (670hp) of power, with the current weight, we would accelerate to 200 very close to Formula 1. For me, that would be amazing.” (Indeed, the 500kW Volkswagen ID R suggests he’s entirely right, given how quickly it accelerates.)

“The teams have already developed a very, very efficient and very good powertrain for seasons seven and eight. Why not use the same powertrain and then just produce one more [for each car] and then put it on the front axle, instead of producing a brand new one with 350kW? So my proposal was at least to try to use the technology that’s already been developed,” he explained.